We'll Work It Out
by knockout34
Summary: Sequel to "The Date". A simple text message from Colby made David and Megan think their plan had worked out fairly well. But when Kailey and Colby don't show up for work Monday morning, they can't help but wonder if things took a turn for the worse. Meanwhile, Colby and Kailey deal with the aftermath of the phone call.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Wow guys, I'm so sorry. It was a very rough school year. So here's a whole story to hopefully make up for my time away. This is my explanation as to why we never saw Lt. Walker in season 5. I would also like to note again that I am not a professional of any means, so please excuse any errors. Hope you enjoy! Don't own Numb3rs.**

"So, is the rumor true?" Liz asked, walking into the bullpen Monday morning where David and Megan were sitting.

"Yeah," Megan grinned.

"Never figured you two as matchmakers."

"Ah, they were together already, we just gave them a shove in the right direction," David responded.

"So have you heard anything?"

Megan and David exchanged looks.

"Bad? Good? What?" Liz asked excitedly.

"I think no matter what we can call it a win," Megan assured her.

"'No matter what'? Something off?"

"Well, we set them up at the Emerald Room…."

"Oh! I love that place," Liz smiled.

"So do we, but apparently they hated it," David said. "Colby sent me a text that said something like 'thanks for trying, heading to a sports bar'."

The three agents laughed.

"You never know until you try, I guess," Liz said. "So nothing after that?"

"Not a word."

Liz checked her watch and frowned.

"You don't think we should call them though? If they're not here in ten minutes they'll be late."

"I'll call _when_ they're late," Megan said. "Kailey's always on time, even if it's down to the last second. If they don't come sprinting in, then I'll worry."

N3N3N3N3N3

Megan sighed as her call went to Kailey's voicemail again. No matter what, it wasn't like Kailey to be dead to the world; she was almost as bad as Don when it came to her commitment work. She looked at David who shook his head, hanging up his phone too. Liz looked between them, clearly as confused as they were.

"You don't think something went wrong?'" Liz asked. Megan shook her head.

"Even if it did, Kailey wouldn't skip work."

"Don wouldn't allow it," David added.

"I did," Liz shrugged. "He didn't like it, but he understood, obviously. Maybe he'd do the same."

"He did warn us not to set them up," David said, looking at Megan. She shrugged.

"I don't know, something doesn't feel right here. There's got to be another reason."

The three sat in silence for a few minutes before Don walked into the bullpen.

"Hey guys," he said, dropping a large stack of paper on his desk. "We've got some catching up to do, and we're going to be shorthanded for a while," he said, casting a dark look over at Kailey's desk. Megan looked at David out of the corner of her eye. _This is bad_, she thought as she saw the expression on his face. Liz caught her eye and gave an apologetic look. _This is really bad._


	2. Chapter 2

Don found himself alone in the break room midmorning. He sat down one of the chairs after getting his coffee and glanced back out into the bullpen. The day wasn't going well. No one ever liked days where there was nothing to do but paperwork, but today was different. He couldn't figure out why David and Megan seemed to be avoiding him. David was normally very talkative on these types of days and Megan normally spend time hovering over Don's shoulder, poking fun at his slow typing.

"Hey."

Don looked up as Liz entered and made her way towards the coffee.

"Hey, do you know what's going on?" he asked her.

"Going on with what?"

"David and Megan; they haven't said one word to me all day. You haven't noticed?"

"I think they feel a little guilty going against you Friday night," Liz said. "Add to the fact that Kailey and Colby aren't even here…."

Don stared.

"They didn't call any of you guys?"

"It went that bad?" Liz asked, reading the expression on his face.

Don shook his head, not having expected to be the one to pass on the news.

"Gary Walker's team was ambushed in a gang bust Friday night."

N3N3N3N3N3

Colby awoke from a light doze and squinted into the bright hospital waiting room at the clock. He had been asleep for a half hour. He glanced over at Kailey who was still buried in the informational handouts the nurses had given her. He hesitated before reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Morning sunshine," she teased, though there was only a hint of a smile on her face.

"News?" he asked, not knowing if he had slept through anything.

"Not yet," she sighed, looking back down at the paper. Colby bit his lip; he hated seeing Kailey look so down and defeated, but he couldn't blame her. Having worked with Lieutenant Walker for multiple cases over the years, it hadn't been easy to hear what went down. LAPD had told them that the lieutenant's squad had been met with a lot of fire power upon entering the subject's house. Two cops were dead and another three, including Walker, were being treated for serious injuries. Walker had taken several bullets to his vest, causing a few broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was also hit in the shoulder and in his left leg. The doctors had managed to remove all the bullets and repair his lung during surgeries on Friday and Saturday. After a day of observation and MRI's, he was currently in surgery again for partial knee replacement as the bullet had shattered his kneecap.

He watched as Kailey turned the pages of the pamphlet again. He sighed, knowing quite well that she had probably read it over a hundred times by now. Reaching over, he pulled them out of her hands and placed them down on the table.

"You're going to over-stress yourself," he said.

"I know, I know."

"Come here," he said, reaching over and pulling her into a one-armed hug. "He'll be okay."

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head hugged a little tighter.

"Hey," Kailey said after a few minutes of silence. "Thanks for, well, everything."

"Anytime," he said. "Well, unless I get ordered otherwise by Don of course."

Kailey smiled and shook her head.

"Ms. Danvers?"

Kailey immediately stood up as a nurse approached.

"Yes?"

"Doctor Stanco is cleaning up but will be ready to speak to you soon about your uncle."


	3. Chapter 3

Don hung up the phone and called his team over to his desk.

"I just got off the phone with Colby," he announced. "Walker just got out of his last surgery. They don't expect any complications, but he'll be out of the force for a while during recovery."

"That's good," Megan said.

"Except I pity the doctor who had to pass that news on to the lieutenant," David said.

"Oh, yeah, ouch," Liz said as Megan and Don cringed and laughed.

"How's Kailey holding up?" Megan asked Don.

"Fine, tired but fine. The director has given her the rest of the week off so I suggest that we let her take her time and do what we can for her."

"Agreed," Liz said before picking up her coat and keys. "Now that we've got with all this good news I suppose it's a good as time as any to take off. Goodnight everyone."

"Night," Don said, Megan and David echoing him. Don turned back to his paperwork as Megan and David went over to Megan's desk.

"I'll give Colby a call in a few hours, see if they need anything," David said.

"Yeah, if anything I can take Roxie home until Kailey finds a good schedule," Megan agreed.

"Hey," Don said, getting up and walking over. "Call me if she needs anything, okay? You know, my dad would dish out a lot of food…." he laughed.

"Sounds good," Megan grinned. "And, Don? We're sorry about going behind your back."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Don shrugged. "Kailey would have been all alone through this mess if you hadn't. It all worked out. Just don't do it again," he scolded, though he was grinning.

"Deal," David said.

N3N3N3N3N3

Roxie came running back with the ball for what Colby thought must be the hundredth time. He checked his watch as the dog dropped the ball at his feet, her tail wagging and eyes pleading him to throw it again. _A few more times won't hurt_, he thought, picking it up. They had been outside for a little over an hour. Even though the doctor guaranteed that Walker would eventually make a full recovery, even to the point of rejoining active duty by the end of the year, Kailey had been silent the whole ride back to her apartment. Colby couldn't even begin to guess what was going through her head, so he took the dog out for some much needed exercise and attention. After throwing the ball again, he looked up at the apartment building, hoping Kailey had snapped out of the trance that she was in. At first, he had been thankful that she was not the hysterical crying type; he had never been very good at dealing with that. But he didn't know what to do here either. He couldn't believe that less than 72 hours ago they had been laughing at the restaurant.

"Are you done now?" he asked Roxie, chuckling as she finally came back panting. "Come on, let's go inside."

He walked the dog inside the building and they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor. Half expecting Kailey to be sitting in the same spot where they'd left her, Colby took a deep breath and opened the door.

"I thought for a second there you got lost," Kailey joked as they entered. She was filling up Roxie's water dish and Colby noticed that she had done some other light cleaning.

"Nah, your dog just has way too much energy," he answered, sighing and sitting on the counter as she filled up the dog's food dish.

"I really don't know how to thank you for everything. I…I don't think I could have made it through without you."

"Yeah, probably not," he answered with a grin. Her eyes narrowed.

"Shut up," she said, rolling her eyes and reaching out to punch his arm.

"That's not really a way to thank me," he said, catching her hand with a laugh. He leaned in to kiss her but she looked down.

"Colby….between work and his recovery…I don't think….I won't have very much free time."

Colby wondered if that's what she had been worried about during the car ride. He shook his head.

"I don't care," he said and she looked back up at him. "I'll be here, whenever you need me. We'll work it out."

He smiled at the taken-aback look on her face before kissing her. When she didn't resist, he picked her up and took her into the bedroom.


End file.
